We are officially the first (and as of right now the ONLY) people to have stand up paddled all the way from Koror to Peleliu. We paddled nearly 30 miles on Friday, May 22. (Our route is shown in white on the map below.)

This is something we've thought and talked about since we arrived here 7 months ago. We knew it would be quite the challenge and quite crazy to many, but that hasn't stopped us before. The weather conditions had not been just right until Thursday of last week. Part of our daily routine on this tiny island nation, is to check the weather, the tide schedule and the ocean conditions. On Thursday we saw the numbers and words we'd almost given up on ever seeing. Wind from the Northeast at 5-10 knots, seas at 3-4 feet, partly cloudy with isolated showers. And the tide times . . . high tide at 5 a.m., low at noon and then high again at 6 p.m. Everything was right, so we knew we just had to give it a try.

This is the most unbelievable place ever. I know - you think I'm going to talk about the ocean life, the corals, the amazingly clear blue warm waters, the perfect stand up paddling conditions, and the totally unique picturesque Rock Islands. But NOOOOOOOO. That's not it at all.

For a few days about a month ago we were teaching Fuanes' wife Lani to drive. We've donated a chunk  of our boards, paddles and other gear to them to start their own business here: Stand Up Paddle Tours. When we leave, we plan to give them our car as well, so they can pick up their paddling guests. For that to be useful, Lanie needed to become a licensed driver, something she's never really needed to do.

Our friend Debbie arrived a day ago and she has never snorkeled or been on a stand up paddle.  Well, here is proof that Debbie enjoyed her day paddling today...

Debbie was standing up paddling away today, the weather was great - a few clouds and not too hot!  Snorkeling was an adventure as well...  Check her blog for more in the days to come...

Ok, so my mom came to visit and the only thing she wanted to do was see a crocodile.  Well, ok, that may not be entirely true, but this croc sure did want to see her. :)

Here is where she sat so as not to get in the way of the food the croc was trying to eat.

So, we've just returned from Thailand and the Philippines.  Wow, what a trip!  Since we are now back in Palau and still on dialup, I can only upload a few pictures, but the videos of the whale sharks are amazing!  Sorry I can't share them with you. :)

These gentle giants live at an Elephant Conservation Sanctuary.  They have all been rescued and live happily now a bit north of Chiang Mai.  Here they are at bathtime...

Just returned from a great trip to Angaur!  Could be my favorite island so far here in Palau - peaceful, beautiful, relaxing...

We hopped on this state boat/barge on Friday afternoon, expecting to return on Sunday, but after the 4 hour trip, we found out that the boat was rescheduled and not due to return until Monday...

 Back on December 20, 2008, I started the Great Basil Experiment of 2008. We bought a little planter box and followed the directions on the seed packet perfectly. I figured with the HOT, humid weather of Palau, that the basil would stand a better chance if kept inside. I got all excited when my first basil shoots erupted from the soil. I had visions of pesto in my head as I watched them grow bigger each day.

On January 1st the basil began to wilt. By January 4^th all the little basil shoots were lying face down in the dirt. It was time to order little teeny basil-sized caskets. It was evident that my basil plants would be leaving this earth for a far, far better place.

My dad came for a visit last week. He's not much of a water guy so we didn't do any stand up paddling or snorkeling, but we did do stuff. Here are just some of the highlights.

First we got a boat ride  from Koror, through the Rock Islands to Peleliu. Godwin, of Dophin Bay, is a great driver, guide, and all around good guy. We dropped us off at Giant Clam Beach while he took the rest of the folks on board over to Jelly Fish Lake for a swim.

Last week we arranged for a boat to take us and our buddy Fuanes out to the Rock Islands for a bit of paddling. Shauna and I hadn't ever been to the Western Lagoon so that's where we headed first.

We paddled around Soft Coral Arch and Natural Arch. The winds weren't as kind as we had hoped. They were kicking up the water a bit.

We went from being pretty great bloggers (a post everyday or every couple of days) to those sucky sort of bloggers who have nothing new to read. Sorry about the lull in the action. It's not that we've left Palau, and it's CERTAINLY not that there's nothing new to post.

We've actually had quite a bit happening. We've taught a few people to stand up paddle.

Fuanes said it was love at first sight. It was probably more like "love at first stroke," but you get the idea. He's a native Palauan who has been a tour guide here for 17 years. We met him during our visit here last May. We did some kayaking together back then. Fuanes and his dog, and faithful paddling buddy, Sally, took right to stand up paddling. They both loved it so much, we've decided to leave all the boards and equipment with Fuanes. He's going to be the stand up paddle guy here in Palau. He's starting his own company Stand Up Paddle Tours (www.standup-paddle-tour.coms should be up in a couple of weeks)!!! Yippeee!!!!